"Who's a good boy~?! You are! You are~!" Harry cooed as he gave the giant three-headed dog his belly rubs, which the dog loved every second of as he wiggled on his back happily, all three of his tongues lolling about in contentment.
All it had taken was a simple Calm spell from Harry, and the big, mean guard dog turned into this lovable puppy that just wanted belly scratches. And if he were being honest, Harry loved giving them too as he fondly recalled his own hounds. Maybe he'll see about getting his own three-headed guard dog as well when his manor was finished being built?
Plans for the future.
Right now however, Harry had potential treasure to plunder.
Reluctantly, Harry stopped giving the dog belly rubs as he turned his attention to the trapdoor that had been located under it.
Opening the door, Harry was greeted with the sight a long and dark hole, which he quickly threw a Magelight into to illuminate all the way down to what appeared to be a tangled mess of vines below.
"Feim Zii Gron!"
Harry's voice seemed to echo slightly, as his entire body and the clothes he was wearing all became translucent from his Shout. Then, without any hesitation, he dropped down into the hole.
Harry felt weightless for several seconds as he fell, before finally reaching the bottom of the hole where he was surrounded by thick vines. Vines that immediately came alive as they tried to grab and wrap around him, but were unable to thanks to his Become Ethereal Shout.
Ignoring them completely, Harry continued on down the side passage until he entered a wide open room filled with fluttering birds. Wait...
"Those aren't birds..." Harry muttered as he realized they were all keys that had apparently sprouted wings. And he was willing to bet that one of those keys would fit the door across from him.
Deciding to try all avenues, Harry strode across the room and pulled out his lockpicks yet again, only they were completely ineffective.
"Figures..." Harry grumbled as he pulled out his wand and tapped the keyhole lightly. "Alohomora."
"..."
Still nothing.
"That's two duds, so that means...?" Harry uttered as he looked around, and spotted an old broom leaning up against the wall.
"Yeah, not gonna happen."
As he said that, Harry's hands crackled with electric magic power and the scent of ozone filled the room.
*KER-KRACKLE!*
"Much better~!" Harry whistled as he casually searched the fallen keys, until he found the one that looked as if it would fit the old wooden door. And sure enough...
"On we go~!"
Feeling increasingly confident with each level he got through, Harry reached the next room where he found numerous statues standing at attention. Half of them were black, and the other half were white, like two armies prepared for battle.
"Great..." Harry groaned as he recognized what this was. A giant chess board.
Of course, the first thing he tried was simply walking across without having to do anything. But, before he could move past them, the chess pieces on the other side all moved as they stood in front of him with weapons bared. It was obvious they expected him to play the game.
"Let's play by MY rules." Harry stated while waving his hand, and space began to warp around him as fifteen demonic figures emerged.
Each one was humanoid with grey skin, and red splotches that mimicked warpaint, while a pair of horns curled upwards from the tops of their heads. They were all clad in matching armors, black and demonic looking with numerous spikes and red light glowing from the gaps between the plates. And each one was wielding any one of a variety of weapons, warhammer, battleaxe, greatsword, shield, mace, war axe, and sword.
"Destroy them all." Harry commanded.
"I honor my lord, by destroying you!" The lead Dremora declared as he stepped forward, already raising his warhammer high as the first of the chess pieces moved to intercept him.
The battle was vicious, brutal, and swift. Harry didn't even need to lift a finger after summoning the Dremora as they swiftly smashed their way through all of the opposing chess pieces, and the ones on Harry's side as well as they realized he had no intention of playing the game.
"Excellent work, as always. You're dismissed." Harry said once the battle was over, and he was standing ankle-deep in a sea of smashed stone and twiated metal.
"My lord." The lead Dremora saluted, before he and the others all vanished as they returned to Oblivion.
Harry continued on into the next room, not knowing that elsewhere in the castle, a certain professor was rolling over in her bed in discontent from bad dreams.
When Harry entered the next chamber, he was surprised to find himself facing another creature like the three-headed dog. Except this one wasn't fluffy or cute. It was a twenty foot tall giant, that Harry recognized as a troll from one of the books he had read over the last several weeks.
"I still don't understand what is with the trolls of this world." Harry muttered as he took in the sight of the damn thing, which looked like a living boulder with grey, lumpy skin, and tree trunk-like legs.
Anything else Harry might have said was cut off, as the troll seemingly realized it had company.
"GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!"
The troll roared as it lifted it's club, which looked more like an entire tree that it had uprooted, and tried to bring it down onto Harry's head.
*CRASH!*
Harry rolled out of the way right as the club came down where he had been standing less than a second prior, before springing to his feet while activating his next spell as a large battleaxe materialized in his hands.
"WULD!"
Harry Shouted as his body flew across the chamber, swinging the weightless battleaxe as he did to slice clean through the troll's leg. He didn't sever it, but a gash was opened across it's entire calf as his summoned axe cut through it like warm butter.
"RAAAAAAAA!"
The troll roared in pain and anger as it swung it's club around in a wide arc at Harry wildly.
"FEIM!"
Harry Shouted once more, his body becoming intangible yet again for precious seconds as he rushed the troll, becoming tangible once again right as he swung his axe at it's other leg.
"GAHN!"
The troll groaned in pain as it fell forward onto it's knees, unable to even support it's own weight anymore after Harry sliced through it's muscles. And now, it was also slow enough that he was able to deal the finishing blow.
Gripping his battleaxe with both hands, Harry raised it up over his head before bringing it down as he let go.
The axe soared through the air as it spun once, twice, three times before burying itself into the troll's comically tiny head.
*Squench!*
*Thumph!*
Harry watched impassively as the troll slumped to the ground, dead, and the axe vanished as the magic maintaining it faded. Instead, the troll's body lit up suddenly as streams of light flowed from it to one of Harry's pocket, where a gem was residing as it adopted a soft glow.
"At least i'll be able to keep refilling Soul Gems here." Harry commented as he took the gem out of his pocket, admiring it for a moment, before putting it away as he continued into the next chamber.
This time all Harry found waiting for him was a table with a collection of bottles of various shapes and sizes, before two walls of flames came to life in the door leading on as well as behind him.
"Safe to presume that one bottle will let me go forward, and the others are poison or something." Harry muttered, while eyeing the roll of paper laying in front of them.
Harry didn't even bother with that, as he used the Clairvoyance spell to determine which bottle to drink. The smallest one of course.
Soon Harry was walking through the flames, and into the chamber on the other side, where he found a mirror standing by itself. And when Harry approached the mirror, he was surprised by what he saw in it.
Aela, waving at him in front of their home. Not one of the random properties Harry had bought over the years in each hold, but their HOME, in Falkreath hold.
Beside her was Serana, also waving at Harry while her hood was up to keep her face out of the sunlight. Standing around them was ALL of the children Harry helped to raise over the years, all young again as they beamed up at him with eyes wide with wonder and joy from their new home and family. And laying on the ground in front of the group were all of the hounds that Harry had raised, trained and fought beside over the years.
Harry didn't even think as he reached out to take Aela's outstretched hand, only his met with cold glass instead of her warmth.
"Cruel, isn't it?" Came a voice behind him, prompting Harry to reluctantly tear his eyes away from the mirror.
"What is it?" He asked the newcomer, Albus.
"It is called the Mirror of Erised. An ingenious yet cruel item, which shows us what we desire most in the entire world regardless of how improbable it is. Many a man have even spent their entire lives in front of it, longing for what it shows us, watsing away over what may never be."
"And why is it here?" Harry asked the old man curiously.
"Partially, because it is quite dangerous to most who look upon it. But, I have also brought it here to help guard something of great importance."
As he said that Albus approached Harry and removed something from his pocket, the little cloth-bound package from Gringotts. When Albus opened the cloth though, out fell a blood-red stone.
"Do you have any idea what this is?" Albus asked as he held it up so that the light caught it.
"It looks like a ruby. But somehow I don't think it is." Harry responded honestly. Any gem as large as that one was worth stealing, but he didn't understand the need for so many traps and obstacles guarding it, unless it was more than it seemed.
"This, Harry, is the Philosopher's Stone. A wondrous item that is regarded as the pinnacle of Alchemy, it can turn any metal into the purest of gold, and produce an elixir that renders the drinker immortal. I'm sure you can see why it would need such protection."
"..."
"Is that it?" Harry asked, actually feeling more than a little let down.
"I'm sorry?"
"I said, is that it? Is that all that any of this was set up to guard?" Harry asked, letting his disappointment show on his face.
"I don't understand Harry. Would you not think that being able to turn any metal into gold is valuable? Or producing an elixir that would keep you from ever being able to age?" Albus asked in confusion.
"I already have the means for both of those." Harry immediately replied, leaving the old man at a loss for words.
"Already...?"
"Yeah." Harry said, channeling his magic while eyeing the metal braziers that were sitting around the chamber. With a wave of his hand, all of them shimmered before they turned to pure gold.
"This is the Transmutation spell, which allows me to turn a mineral into another mineral. Permanently. The magic required varies depending on what I'm working with and turning it into, for example it is easier to turn silver into gold than stone. But I mostly use it to help refine the metals I'm working with at my forge so I always have what I need."
As he said that, Harry pointed at another discarded brazier while channeling magic, turning it into pure Malachite that was used to forge the Glass armor and weapons that elves liked to use.
"Incredible..." Albus uttered in awe as he examined the Malachite.
"And the means of immortality?" He asked, unable to help himself.
"I would prefer not to say just yet." Harry said slowly, as the only real means of immortality he possessed right now was the blood Serana gifted him before he returned to this world. Leaving aside his own thoughts on becoming a vampire, If Harry did take the blood now, he would be stuck as an eleven year old for eternity.
"Incredible..." Albus uttered.
"You aready said that."
"I know. I still just find it hard to believe that someone would consider something as unique and powerful as the stone to be so pointless." Albus said while shaking his head, a smile on his lips as he returned the stone to his pocket.
"By the way, why does the stone need guarding anyways?" Harry asked curiously, to which Albus's expression grew dim.
"Because. We believe that Voldemort may be after it, to use the life-giving properties of the stone to return to power after his defeat ten years ago." Albus said gravely.
"Then why bring it to a school?" Harry asked in confusion, since he recalled it being said that Gringotts was the most secure place for something.
"..."
"Unless you WANT him to come after it..." Harry added as Albus let the silence stretch.
"..."
"You're baiting a trap..." Harry uttered in realization, to which Albus tapped the side of his crooked nose.
"Many out there believe that Voldemort has disappeared forever. And while I would like to share in their optimism, I highly doubt that is the case."
"So you're trying to draw him out of hiding." Harry continued as he caught on to what Albus was doing.
"Indeed. In his case, ignorance is our greatest weakness. If we can learn more about the state that Voldemort is in, as well as what kind of support he has, then we can start formulating proper plans against him."
"Do you suspect anyone here is supporting him?"
"It....is possible, but I would prefer not to give in to paranoia."
"So whoever goes for the bait is working for him?"
"I am fairly certain."
"And were you going to tell me about all of this?" Harry asked with a cocked brow.
"Not initially. But after learning of the other experiences you've had, I figured I would let you know about what was going on once you'd settled here at Hogwarts. I didn't think you'd make your way down here on your very first night though."
"First rule of exploring a place like skyrim, go to the places that everyone says is dangerous if you want the good shit."
"Interesting philosophy. And did ignoring such warnings bring you the riches and treasure you were after?"
"Absolutely. I'll show you my collection sometime."
"I look forward to it. But for now, it is getting late, and I would like to go to bed. I would suggest you do the same."
Harry rolled his eyes as he made to follow Albus out of the chamber, but not before he thought of something.
"By the way... When Voldemort does show himself, I'M the one who gets to deal with him." Harry stated firmly.
"Unfortunately, you and I are on the same page in that regard." Albus said sadly as they passed the corpse of the troll.
The rest of the trip back was silent as they passed the giant chess set, the flying keys, the living vines, and the giant three-headed dog. It was only when they were back in the third floor corridor that they made to part ways.
"Oh Harry, before I forget..." Albus suddenly said before they parted.
"Wandering the corridors at night is strictly forbidden for students. I'm afraid I'll have to dock you twenty points. Goodnight."
Harry blinked as he watched the old man leave, whistling casually as he did so.